WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today 5 – 4 that it is a federal crime to buy a gun on behalf of someone else in a “straw purchase.” The Court ruled in Abramski v. U.S. that purchasing a gun with the intent to sell it to someone else is an illegal attempt to evade the Brady law, which requires that the actual buyer of a gun undergo a background check.

“This is a very big and very positive decision that will save lives by keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people. Once again the Supreme Court rejected efforts by the corporate gun lobby to undermine federal gun laws, reaffirming that sensible laws can have a big impact while being consistent with the Second Amendment,” said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Today’s decision reinforces the intent of the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the Brady Law, which requires firearm buyers to undergo background checks in order to prevent convicted felons, fugitives and other dangerous people from buying guns. The Court ruled that buying a gun on behalf of someone else is illegal, even if that person is not prohibited from owning firearms. In Abramski, a Virginia man was charged with “straw purchasing” after he bought a gun for his uncle, a Pennsylvania resident who was not prohibited from owning guns.